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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Poverty in Nigeria remains significant despite high economic growth, it first started sometime

during the British Empire. Nigeria has one of the world’s highest economic growth rates

(averaging 7.4% over the last decade), a well-developed economy, and plenty of natural

resources such as oil. However, it retains a high level of poverty, with 63% of its population

living on below $1 daily, implying a decline in equity (Wikipedia, 2012).

Nigeria has a population of over 150 million – the largest in Africa and a fast growing economy.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, contributing about 45 percent of GDP. Yet it is a

food-deficit nation and imports large amount of grains, livestock products and fish. Despite

Nigeria’s plentiful agricultural resources and oil wealth, poverty is widespread in the country and

has increased since the late 1990s. Over 70 percent of Nigerians are now classified as poor, and

35 percent of them live in absolute poverty (Portal, 2012).

In the last few decades, poverty has become pervasive in Nigeria; the country has slipped from a

buoyant and up-coming economy to rank, according to the British Department for International

Development, among the poorest 20 countries in the world. It is something of a paradox that a

country recognized as one of the richest in human and material resources in Africa and indeed

the whole world, finds itself in this rather inglorious position. Since the early 1970s Nigeria has

ranked as the sixth largest producer of crude petroleum. The country has earned billions of

dollars from the export of the product. Nigerians and the rest of the world hoped that with such

enormous resources it would be possible for the country to “take off” and achieve rapid

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economic and industrial transformations. But this was not to be. Through a combination of

mismanagement, poor leadership and incredible level of corruption on the part of public

officials, Nigeria’s fortune is squandered or siphoned (Edoh, 2003).

Despite the fact that associated poverty carried some associated similarities locally and

internationally there existed a differing measure of yardstick. Internationally the combinations of

major African nations are rated as most devastated while parts of Asia and North American

countries follow. Locally, Nigeria Northern region is characterized as more ravaged compared to

other parts of the country (Auwal, 2012).

The English word “poverty” came from the Latin pauper “poor”, via Anglo-Norman poverty.

There are several definitions of poverty depending on the context of the situation it is placed in

and views of the person giving the definition. Wikipedia (2012) According to the free

encyclopaedia:

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.

Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the one who lacks basic human needs, which commonly

includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7

billion people are estimated to live in absolute poverty today. Relative poverty refers to lacking a

usual or socially acceptable level of resources or income as compared with others within a

society or a country (Wikipedia 2012, 1).

The United Nations defines poverty as; A denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of

human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not

having enough to feed or cloth a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the

land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It

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means insecurity, powerlessness, and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It

means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments,

without access to clean water or sanitation (United Nations, 2011, 2).

The above definition from the United Nations, agrees with Kankwenda’s words as quoted by

Alimeka, which looked at poverty as multidimensional phenomenon that is both a state and

process. “Poverty is … a state of deprivation or denial of the basic choices and opportunities

needed to enjoy a decent steward of living; to live a long, healthy constructive life and to

participate in cultural life of the community”. (Kankwenda, 2002:64)

The above bears a striking resemblance with the characterization of phenomenon of poverty by

the World Bank and the Copenhagen Declaration of 1995. According to World Bank;

Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes

low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with

dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water

and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and

opportunity to better ones life (World Bank, 2012, 3).

The Copenhagen Declaration of 1995 asserted that: Poverty has various manifestations,

including lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihoods:

hunger and malnutrition, ill health, limited or lack of access to education and other basic

services, increased morbidity and mortality from illness; homelessness and inadequate housing;

unsafe environments, social discriminations and exclusion. It is also characterized by a lack of

participation in decision and in civil, social and cultural life (Alimeka, 2001, 3).

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Apart from material poverty, we have another form of poverty known as poverty of the mind.

Any human defect associated with the mind is a form of poverty of the mind or a deterioration of

the mind. To say that all riches depend on the richness of the mind is a truism. Lack or absence

of whatever is needed for any reason or purpose is normally considered as poverty. Disease,

illness and ill treatment may remove human qualities from human beings and consequently

dehumanize them, but the most powerful single dehumanizing factor is the poverty of the mind.

It prevents the acquisition of every positive ability, quality, skill and knowledge for development

and progress (Tarbo, 2005).

Poverty has remained a threat and challenge to humanity in all ramifications. It is complex,

multidimensional and multifaceted with manifestations in the economic, social, political,

environmental and every realm of human existence. The conceptualization of poverty over the

years is changing with emerging perspective eives in different contexts. Balla and Lapeyre

(2006) relate it tote concept if social exclusion as an emerging phenomenon in both developed

and developing contexts. Bradshaw and Main (2016) discuss child poverty, addressing how the

well-being of children is affected by indices of poverty. Room (2016) analyses the new poverty

in European community, indicating the existence of poverty in even the most advanced societies.

Poverty remains a significant topic of discourse in Africa (Beegle, 2016) Poverty has been linked

to climate vulnerability. (Thorntonn et al. 2006), social protection (Barrientos & Hulme, 2016

and gender issues (Shah, 2016). Historically, scholars (e.g Feagin, 1972; Lewis 1971) wrote

interesting thesis on diverse aspects of poverty. Ajakaiye and Adeyeye (2001) give a historical

background of these changing perspectives from a focus on income indicators in the 1960’s to

inclusion of non-monetary indicators in the 1990s and beyond. Poverty is listed as a risk factor in

coping with health challenges (Pearson, 2015). Poverty has multiplier effects and linkages such

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that lack of access to resources can affect health status, life expectancy, security, education and

relationships. Efforts are being intensified globally through reforms intervention and sustainable

development goals to tackle poverty and improve living standards. Nations are categorized on

the scale of development based on indices that have direct bearing on poverty.

The challenges of poverty in Nigeria have attracted the attention of successive administrations.

However, it remains a paradox-poverty in the midst of plenty and rising in periods of economic

growth (Omoyibo, 2013). This may be true to the extent that Nigeria is endowed with human and

natural resources and has had an increasing national income; yet a larger section of her

population languishes in poverty due to uneven distribution and allocation of income and wealth

(Akgbokhan, 1998)

The lesson from the preceding is that, poverty in Nigeria as indeed elsewhere must be defined in

both its manifestive and consequential characteristics. It is against the above background that we

can now meaningfully examine the incidence of poverty in the society with particular reference

to Eggon community.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The issue of Poverty continued to be a core subject matter in Nigeria and other African countries

alike, Human poverty is more than income poverty, it is the denial of choices and opportunities

for living a tolerable life (United Nations 1997) poverty amid plenty id challenge.

Though Nigeria recorded 7.5 percent expansion in 2012 that was faster than the global and

regional average in 2011 this growth which did not impact positively in the eyes if majority,

might have neither improve the employment rate and living standards of Nigeria in 2012. Recent

data from the National Bureau of Statistics placed the country‟s misery index at 34% a

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development which analyst described as horrible and terrifying. According to the Bureau the

figure of unemployed Nigerians in the first half of 2011 was 23.9% from 21.1% in 2010 and

19.7% in 2009. This showing that the rise in unemployment is bound to worsen as the year goes

by.

Therefore the crucial problem of this research is on the causes and effects of poverty in Nigerian

economy. What is the way forward? That is how poverty will be reduced appreciably if not

eradicated in Nigeria

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The major objective of the study is to Identify the Effects of Poverty in the society; while the

specific objectives include the following:-

i. To find out how poverty influence the society

ii. Examine the effect of poverty on the performance of pupils in Eggon Local

Government.

iii. Suggest ways by which poverty can be reduced in our society

iv. Promote self –empowerment rather than depending on the government

v. Suggest possible ways to improve the academic performance of pupils who fall

victim of poor families.

1.4 Research Questions

i. What are the factors responsible for poverty in the society?

ii. How do the problems of poverty affect home, children and the society?

iii. Does poverty have any significant effect on the academic performances of students?

iv. How can self-empowerment be created rather than depending on the government?

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v. Is there any significant difference in the academic performance of pupils from poor

homes and those from rich homes?

1.5 Hypotheses

Hypothesis for the research are stated in the null and alternative forms as follows:

Hypothesis 1

Ho: There is no significant relationship between poverty and the society

Hi: There is a significant relationship between poverty and the society

Hypothesis 2

Ho: there is no significant relationship between poverty and academic performance of students.

Hi: there is significant relationship between poverty and academic performance of students.

1.6 Significance of the study

This study is very significant for the fact that it:

 Highlights the causes of poverty and its effects on the society


 It further suggest possible solutions to the problem of poverty
 It will also create awareness to people in a bid to overcome poverty alleviation and also
provide information as to how to organize and empower themselves rather than
depending on the government.

1.7 Scope and Limitations of the study

The researchers work focuses on the effects of poverty on the society. The researcher will base

this work using Eggon Local government as a case study.

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The first major limitation of the study experienced by researcher was lack of time. This is due to

the fact that both academic course work and the study were taking place simultaneously.

Another limitation encountered by the researcher was the lack of sufficient data particularly on

poverty which greatly affected the study in terms of carrying out direct and detailed analysis.

For an in-depth work to be carried out in this study, the sourcing of data was not easy.

Finally, finance was in fact the most limited factor, in spite of this the researcher have to travel

out to the sampled location to interview some of the farmers, traders and students living in the

community.

1.8 Definition of Terms

The following definition of terms simply represents the specific meaning that will be given to

them in this study

POVERTY: – This is a living condition in which an individual‟s unable to take care of his basic

needs like clothing, food, shelter, inability to meet social and economic obligations, lack of

gainful employment and other environmental opportunities at his disposal.

UNEMPLOYMENT: – This is a situation where by one is able and willing to work at a

prevailing wage rate but does not have work.

POVERTY RATE: – This is the percentage of a nations population with income below the

poverty line.

POVERTY LINE: – This is the value of basic necessities considered essential for melting the

minimum socially acceptable standard of living in the society.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: – This is the percentage of labour force without jobs but is willing

and available for work.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Conceptual Framework

2.1.1 Nigeria’s Poverty Profile

Nigeria's economy relies heavily on oil, which constitutes almost all its exports and budgetary

revenues. In 1973, the first oil shock brought a dramatic positive impact on most economic

indicators; real per capita income, private consumption and real wages rose sharply. At the same

time, according to Anusionwu and Diejomoah (1981), income inequalities increased sharply,

particularly between urban and rural areas, and primarily as a result of oil booms and their spin-

offs. Between 1980 and 1985, economic conditions worsened, mainly because of the decrease in

the international price of oil. The oil boom contributed to a large appreciation of the naira (with a

negative impact on non-oil tradable, especially agriculture, and harming employment and income

for the immobile). In 1986, the government adopted a structural adjustment programme. The

depreciation of the naira combined with the rising oil prices in 1990 boosted the economy;

between 1986 and 1992, real GDP grew by an average of 5% per year, but economic growth

slowed again during 1993-1995. According to the World Bank (1996), by 1994 real per capita

income and consumption were hardly above levels in 1971.

 Severity of poverty as well as the incidence of extreme poverty increased between 1985

and 1992. While the absolute number of poor decreased from 36 million to 34.7 million

between 1985 and 1992, the number of extreme poor increased from 10 million to 13.9

million. Income inequalities among the whole population increased from 0.387 in 1985 to

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0.449 in 1992, and the Gini among the poor from 0.188 to 0.251. The poor have the

following characteristics (World Bank, 1996b):

 In 1992, 62% of the population was rural. Among these 63 million people, 22.8 million

were poor (36%), while 9.6 million were extremely poor (15%). In urban areas, the

incidence of poverty was 30% and the incidence of extreme poverty 11%. Poverty

intensity was 16% for the rural poor and 12% for the urban poor. The overall decline in

national poverty between 1985 and 1992 masks different trends for the urban and rural

sectors. Urban poverty incidence increased and rural poverty declined. The number of

poor in rural areas fell from 26.3 to 22.8 million, while in urban areas it rose from 9.7 to

11.9 million For the extreme poor, there was a similar trend of urban immoderation, with

a huge increase of extreme poverty in urban areas from 1.5 million to 4.3 million and a

small increase in rural extreme poverty from 8.6 to 9.6 million.

 The incidence of poverty was greater among male-headed households than female-

headed households: for male-headed households it was 44% at the national level in 1985

and 36% in 1992, against 37% and 21%, respectively, for female-headed households. In

1992, male-headed households formed 90% of all households and contributed to 92% of

rural poverty and to 87% of urban poverty. Despite being the largest economy in sub-

Saharan Africa, with some 20% of the region’s population, little information on poverty

and inequality in Nigeria is available. The World Bank's poverty assessment on Nigeria

(1996b) provides one of the few good overviews of poverty and its correlates over the

1980s. It relies mainly on two national consumer surveys, of 1985 and 1992. With a

relative upper poverty line of two-thirds of 1985 mean per capita household expenditure,

poverty incidence decreased from 43% to 34% between 1985 and 1992. Using an

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extreme poverty line of one-thirds of mean expenditure, the proportion of the population

in extreme poverty rose from 12% in 1985 to 14% in 1992. Intensity and Unusually (cf.

Lipton, 1995), poverty incidence was the lowest among households whose head was

between 16 and 25 years old (in this category 20% were poor in 1985 and 22% in 1992).

The older the household head, the more likely the household to be in poverty; in 1985,

among households with heads between 36 and 55 years, 46% were poor (36% in 1992);

in households with heads over 66 years, 52% were poor in 1985 (35% in 1992).

 Employment status of the household head was closely related to poverty in both 1985 and

1992, though rural and national poverty incidences fell for all status groups. In 1985 and

1992, at the national, rural and urban levels, the highest incidence of poverty was found

among the self-employed: at the national level, in 1985, their poverty incidence was 53%

against 46% for wage earners (in 1992 it was 35% against 28%). Agricultural workers

formed the largest component of the extremely poor in 1992 (though falling from 87% in

1985 to 67% in 1992), followed by sales workers (rising from 4% of the extremely poor

to 10%, respectively).

 In 1985, the incidence of poverty was 48% among the population with no education, 36%

among the population with primary education, 28% among the population with secondary

education and a surprisingly high 24% among the population with post-secondary

education. In 1992, these figures were 40%, 29%, 23% and 23%.

The NBS (2005) conducted five surveys which revealed that national poverty rates was

28.1percent (1980), 46.3 per cent (1985), 42.76 per cent (1992), 65.6 per cent (1996) and 54.4

per cent for 2004. Poverty incidence in the country recorded increases between the period 1980

and 1985 and between 1992 and 1996. The results also show appreciable decrease in poverty

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rates between 1985 and 1992 and between 1996 and 2004. Even with the drop in poverty rates,

the population in poverty has maintained a steady increase from 17.7 million in 1980 to 68.7

million in 2004 (NBS, 2005).

Considering the period, 1980-2004, the proportion of the core poor increased from 6.2 per cent in

1980 to 29.3 per cent in 1996 and then came down to 21.8 per cent in 2004. For the moderately

poor the picture is quite different as the proportion recorded increased between 1980 and 1985

from 21.0 per cent, 34.2 per cent, and 1992 and 1996 28.9 per cent to 36.5 per cent but decreased

during the periods 1985 and 1992 from 34.2 per cent to 28.9 per cent and 1996-2004 from 36.3

per cent to 32.4 per cent.

2.1.2 What is Poverty?

According to Case and Ray (1989), poverty is defined as people with very low incomes. Besides,

poverty should be measured by examining or calculating how much it costs to buy the basic

necessities of life, a minimally adequate diet, the minimum housing unit and so forth. A country

that is perceived to be poor has failed to cater for her citizenry, lacks amenities and lives in fear.

“Poverty is the lack of capability to function effectively in society. Inadequate education can thus

be considered a form of poverty” (AmartyaSen, 1992, UNESCO, 2008).

However, in a country where poverty is rampant, numerous poverty alleviation programmes

should be launched and it is a government responsibility to look at the problem from the grass-

roots level and devise undisputable strategies.

The effect of poverty leads to a lack of educational resources in poor schools and sometimes

could hinder learning. Without providing good facilities, teaching materials, textbooks and

classroom resources, it becomes hard to facilitate good learning and quality teaching.

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Educationally speaking, the only way to reduce poverty is to make considerable investments in

education. This investment provides many benefits such as skills enhancement and productivity

among poor households.

Moreover, poverty is a constraint to educational achievement both at the macro and micro levels.

Hence, poor countries generally have lower levels of enrolment while at the micro level; children

of poor households receive less education (Xoe, 1997).

It is believed that the young people who are suffering from poverty are restricted from getting

enrolled or are deprived access to education and they are more likely to achieve poorer

educational outcomes compared to young people from rich families or those with rich relatives.

Furthermore, the situation of the young people deprived of receiving enrolment or being retained

in education and those achieving low educational outcomes are the same and they are likely to

experience poverty (Bynner and Joshi, 2002).

However, this has now become a global issue and in the US and UK, children’s attending school

and their academic performance rely on the socio-economic position of their parents (Jencks’s,

1972; Carlo, Alan, Helen, Dave, Lisa and

Afroditi, 2007). This issue also applies to less developed countries where there is a link between

education and poverty when enrolment into and retention in education are strongly linked to

levels of poverty (Filmer & Pritchett,

1999, 2001

2.1.3 The Concept of Poverty

There is no consensus on a standard definition of poverty despite its universality and the

enormous literature on it (Laderchi, Saith, & Stewart, 2003, 2006). There are divergent views on

its nature, how to determine whether it is rising or falling and the understanding of transition

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from being ‘non-poor’ into the poverty trap. Deaton (2002) captures this dilemma accurately in

seeking to know the true representation of global poverty; Real progress has been made in

reducing poverty in recent years, particularly in India and China.

However, there is still much uncertainty about the numbers. Using the same data, two reports

released less than two years apart by the World Bank reached apparently different conclusions on

whether world poverty was going up or down. How can we know whether the world poverty

counts are accurate?

Debates persist because poverty has both tangible and intangible indicators. Callan and Nolan

(1991) observe that one challenge confronting researchers and policy makers is the identification

of the poor and measuring the extent of their poverty. Given the complexity of the issues, the

best introduction to poverty measurement is through the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon

and the different concepts of it’ (Lok-Dessallien, 1999).

In spite of the controversies surrounding its conceptualization, it is generally agreed that poverty

has adverse effects on individuals and communities; it breeds social exclusion, isolation fear,

distress and deprivations (Backwith, 2015). The poor tend to be powerless and voiceless; they

live in sub-standard environments with low incomes, inadequate social amenities and

opportunities for improved well-being. Poverty may lead to loss of self-confidence, self-

actualization, self-fulfillment, lack of good orientation and abandonment of cultural values and

heritage such that people are ashamed of their cultural and racial identity (Commins, 2004;

Jencks, 1992). It also manifests in ethics and morality where shallow intellectualism prevails,

and people do everything to achieve their selfish goals (Abimuku, 2006). It makes people lack

the capability to function and enjoy the core values of development and sustenance.

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Poverty has a strong correlation with income even though the use of income to measure poverty

has been strongly disputed (Bak & Larsen, 2015). The United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP) 2002 describes the poor as those who live on less than $1 per day. The issues of income

inequalities, gender imbalance and rural-urban divide where those who produce wealth are

deprived from reaping its benefits have attracted the attention of the international community.

Women, rural dwellers and other vulnerable groups who produce the bulk of the world’s food get

incommensurable rewards for their labour (Abimuku, 2006).

2.1.4 Forms of Poverty

Distinctions have also been made between absolute and relative Poverty (Foster, 1998; Lok-

Dessallien, 1999).

i. Absolute and Subsistence poverty

Absolute or Subsistence Poverty refers to a household’s inability to command

sufficient income to meet its basic needs for food, shelter, clothing, transportation and

education. Absolute poverty is a situation of low income and consumption. Income

and consumption levels are the parameters in deriving an imaginary Poverty Line

(PL) often used as a yardstick for measuring the minimum standard of living. People

are considered poor if their measured standard of living in terms of income and

consumption falls below the PL (John C Anyanwu, 1997; Callan & Nolan, 1991). The

PL adopted by the World Bank for international comparison is $1 per person, per day

(Chen & Ravallion, 2007). Furthermore, individuals below the PL are grouped into

two categories; the poor and the extremely poor giving rise to two PLs; the Upper PL

(UPL) and the Lower PL (LPL). The poor are individuals whose incomes fall below

the UPL but are above the LPL, while the extremely poor are those whose incomes

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fall below the LPL. Conceptualizing poverty in absolute terms is the most common

practice even though it is problematic to determine what constitutes minimum

standards of living given varied socio-economic conditions.

ii. Relative Poverty

Relative poverty is a condition in which an individual or household’s income falls

short of the average income of the population in the society being considered.

Individuals in relative poverty have their resources lower than those possessed by

average individuals to the extent that they are excluded from ordinary living patterns,

customs and activities. It is context-sensitive and reflects the changing perception of

acceptable minimum standard of living. It is also dynamic as it is subject to the needs

and demands of a changing society. Sometimes even within a given country, what is

luxurious in one period may become essential in another. For instance a ‘non poor’

person in Chad may be among the extremely poor in Denmark, while electricity,

indoor sanitations and pipe borne water are essential in developed countries, they are

not perceived as such in poor countries. Lok-Dessallien (1999, ) explains that;

Poverty measurement has traditionally been dominated by the objective approach.

Only relatively recently has the international community as a whole taken a serious

interest in measuring subjective poverty. This is mainly because of mounting

recognition of the limitations associated with so-called objective indicators and the

value of understanding the perspectives of the poor in shaping policies and

programmes. As a result, participatory poverty assessment methodologies have been

gaining ground. Subjective Poverty requires a country to define what is considered

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the minimum adequate standard of living for a given period. It depends on

individuals’ perceptions about their standard of living.

iii. Chronic poverty

Chronic poverty as a type of poverty is primarily collective. It normally relates to a

family or a group of people (Lötter, 2000:119). This form of poverty develops over a

long period, mostly over generations, and those who are trapped in it cannot escape

easily.

An example of chronic poverty can be found in the lives of a large number of rural

black people in South Africa. In most of these cases, the poverty is passed on from

one generation to another. Because the new generation, in am manner of speaking,

inherits the poverty from the previous one, and does not create new opportunities, the

level of intensity of the poverty can increase in some cases. This could be regarded as

a form of “terminal poverty”.

iv. Transitional poverty

Another form of poverty is transitional poverty. This mainly occurs in cases where

there is economic instability. It is mostly an unexpected form of poverty, and can

affect anyone. May (1998:6,8) links it to a negative outcome of change; it is normally

manifested in cases where people unexpectedly lose their jobs. An example is the way

in which thousands lost their jobs after the terrorist attacks on the United States on 11

September 2001. This particularly affected airline workers worldwide.

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Transitional poverty brought about by unforeseen loss of employment and income

can be exacerbated where there is insufficient unemployment insurance or where the

worker has not made provision for emergencies.

However, it is regarded as transitional poverty because unemployed people can find

jobs again after some time. This type of poverty is mostly found in countries where

employment opportunities do exist.

v. Spatial poverty

May and Rogerson (1998:208) distinguish spatial poverty. They argue that poverty

and a tendency to poverty can be linked to the place where people live as well as their

geographic area. For instance, they point out that people who lack access to transport

find it more difficult to find jobs than do people who have such access. People wish

to live close to public transport in order to reach their workplaces. The result is an

increase in migrant labor and urbanization. However, the migration to urban areas has

led to an increase in poverty. According to the World Bank’s poverty report (1996)

the majority of the world’s poor communities live in urban areas.

A research report by Sachs, Mellinger and Gallup (2001), published in Scientific

American, further indicated that poverty and the distribution of wealth largely

correlated with the geographic location of countries. This explains the divide between

the mostly affluent North and the poor South.

vi. Susceptibility poverty

In his discussion of poverty Lötter (2000:118) refers to instances where people have a

particular susceptibility for poverty. This mainly relates to cases where people have

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specific skills within their own culture and technology, but are unable to transfer

and/or use them in new, changing circumstances. A typical example of this type of

poverty would be a well trained person who struggles to find employment in the

information technology-driven economy owing to an inability to master this

technology.

Mander (1991) has done an in-depth study of the impact of Western technology on

Native Americans. One of his main findings was that exposure to modern Western

technologies has contributed to the impoverishment of Native Americans.

2.1.5 Different Levels of Poverty

Three levels of poverty can be distinguished, viz.

i. Individual,

ii. Family/Group and

iii. Regional/Community poverty.

May (1998) points out that the intensity and impact of poverty are both determined by the level

of poverty. The three levels are briefly discussed below.

i. Individual poverty

Individual poverty is related to cases where isolated individuals in a community

suffer from some kind of poverty. In such isolated cases, the impact of the poverty is

mostly limited to the life of the individual concerned, and the community also finds it

easier to become involved by rendering assistance.

ii. Family/Group poverty

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Family and group poverty occur where the main breadwinner(s) of a family or group

of people are without income due to amongst others a loss of employment, death or

serious illness.

The impact of this type of poverty is greater since it mostly affects larger groups or

families. When an extended family structure is affected, it often impacts on a number

of children and elderly people, since two or three generations of a family sometimes

live together. In most cases, there is no one in such family groups who can take over

the role of generating income.

The effect of poverty at this level is exacerbated by the fact that the economic

organisation of these extended family structures, which to a large extent formed the

system which provided social protection, has in most cases disintegrated (Lötter,

2000).

iii. Regional and community poverty

Regional and community poverty is generally used to describe a particular

community or region where most of the people live in poverty. The Orange Farm

region in Gauteng, South Africa, is an example of an impoverished community. Most

of the inhabitants live below the breadline and there is a high unemployment rate. In

addition, there is a lack of basic services, people have little say in political decision-

making on issues affecting their futures and they generally live in unhygienic

conditions. Another characteristic of community poverty is overpopulation, without

the infrastructure required for the basic needs of these people (Lötter, 2000).

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Poverty is very real in Nigeria and over the last ten years, the quality of life of the average

Nigerian citizen has progressively nose-dived. Available statistics indicate glaringly how

precarious life has become for the average Nigerian citizen over the years in the face of

suffocating levels of poverty.

The Nigerian situation becomes more pathetic when comparisons are made with other less

endowed developing countries in Africa and other parts of the third world. Findings by Obadan

and Odusola (2001) show for example, “that Nigeria’s per capita income of $240 in 1990 was

well below the average of over $500 for sub-Saharan Africa. The figure for Nigeria was well

below that of Bostwana ($3,210), Cote d’Ivoire ($6,600), Egypt ($1,080), South Africa ($3,500),

Mauritius ($3,710)”. (Obadan and Odusola, 2001:8) When juxtaposed against statistics from

Latin America and Asian States, dynamics of poverty in Nigeria become even more potently

obvious. The country’s $240 per capita in 1990 poles before the $4,400 for Brazil and $10,610

for South Korea. The severity of poverty in Nigeria is equally glaring when other indicators of

services and development are considered. A tabulation of life expectancy of Nigerians,

population per doctor, population per hospital bed and the rate of infant mortality demonstrates

the pathetic conditions in which citizens find themselves in the country. Studies and reports

(from World Bank, 1996 UNDP 1997 Ogwumike 1997, and Vision 2010) have demonstrated

how low Nigerians rank in terms of access to electricity, safe drinking water, adequate housing,

sufficient calories intake etc. The Vision 2010 Committee Report showed that:

 50% of Nigerians live below the Poverty Line

 Only about 40% have access to safe drinking water

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 About 85% of the urban population live in single rooms with more than 7 occupants of

the average

 Only about 62% of Nigerians have access to Primary Healthcare

 Most Nigerians take less than one third of the minimum required protein and vitamins.

Repost Committee; (Alimeka, 2001)

Statistics appear to grossly under-estimate the immensity of poverty that defines Nigeria’s

paradox of rich country with poor masses. These realities are much more obvious in rural areas

and slums. In these places, people die because they cannot afford N500 to purchase needed

medication or basic public healthcare. Worse still, people around may not be able to help as they

too may not be able to collectively raise the needed amount of money. It is a very obvious reality

in today’s Nigeria! As strange as it may sound, this is going on side by side with ostentatious

living by the one percent of the population. Even official statistics admit that over 12 million

Nigerians live on less than $1.00 US dollar a day.

A factual indicator is the result of the harmonized Nigeria living standards survey conducted by

the non-partisan National Bureau of Statistics which puts the Nigerian poverty profile at 69

percent. This indicates that poverty and income inequality in the country have increased since

2003/2004. Accordingly, the NBS estimated that this trend may rise further if the potential

positive impact of several anti-poverty and employment generation intervention programmes of

government falls through. The report reveals that 112.47 million Nigerian live below US $1.00

per day and as a result could barely afford the minimal standards of food, clothing, healthcare,

and shelter (Olufemi, 2012).

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2.1.6 The State of Nigerian Poverty

Generally, Africa is a continent blessed with different types of natural resources but still, the

continent has a long history of poverty caused by political instability, mismanagement, serious

corruption and selfish leaders.

There is a high level of poverty in the African continent compared with others and this poverty is

denying millions of Africans better lives, good education and is crippling the process of

development and the economy. According to the African Development Bank (ADB), cited by

Nwagwu, (2007), 40 to 45% of Africa’s population is estimated to be living in absolute poverty

and an estimated 30% belong to the extreme poor. Thus, those Africans in absolute poverty live

on $2 per day while those in extreme poverty live on below $1 per day. Therefore, it is a painful

task to look into these statistics and a true catastrophe for the African continent.

In Nigeria, before independence in 1960, the economy was characterized by the dominance of

exports and commercial activities while after independence, agriculture continued as the

mainstay of the economy. During this time, jobs were created and the rates of inflation,

unemployment and productivity remained relatively acceptable (Ekpo & Umoh, 1998).

Ironically, Nigeria is a petroleum-based country, with the problem of political instability,

corruption and poor macroeconomic management. The installation of democracy happened in

1999 after been ruled by the military for decades. Despite this wealth and abundance, Nigeria is

the 17th poorest country in the world, in spite of the large quantity and quality of crude oil

produced in the country.

In 1960, after independence, Nigeria displayed great awareness of educational development and

the economy was booming. The Nigerian government and individuals became involved in

educational development. Besides, in these particular years, moving into the 70s, everyone was

23
given an opportunity to go to school and attain basic education. It was an era of Universal Free

Primary Education. But, unfortunately, the opportunity did not last long. The 1980's and 1990's

degenerated with regard to keeping up with the previous education standards (Gaffar,1997).

In the 90s towards 21st century, the federal government mounted for 6 years (since the

restoration of democracy) a series of programmes geared towards achieving poverty reduction,

some of which were

i. People’s Bank of Nigeria (PNB) (1990)

ii. National Agricultural Land Development (NALDA) (1993)

iii. National Poverty Eradication Programme (NPEP) (2001)

Eventually, the programmes died down without achieving their ultimate aims and objectives. To

alleviate poverty through education, many universities were built and colleges were established

but despite the increased number of university graduates produced from these universities and

colleges, the Human Development Index (HDI), a compound measure of income and access to

education and health services, ranked Nigeria 152nd out of 175 countries in 2000 (UNDP, 2004).

This low HDI reflects the situation with regard to poor access to basic social services in the

country (Aye & Oji, 2002). The National Household Survey conducted in 2005 shows that

51.6% of the Nigerian population lives in poverty (NBS, 2005).

There are relatively varieties of Literatures addressing poverty in Nigeria. The following three

publications are some of the most recent contributions.

 Nnadi (2008) discusses the various impacts of globalization on the Nigerian economy.

These impacts have resulted to social and economic problems in the country such as

inequality, the emergence of a social underclass and low development. He also states that

24
globalization has affected Nigeria’s economic growth through a decline of foreign direct

investment and that for unemployment, poverty and inequality to be alleviated Nigeria’s

economic policies need to be changed.

 Ford (2007) discusses the oil crisis in the oil producing region of Nigeria. He states that

poverty has been linked to high crime rates, especially in the Niger Delta region where

there is a sharp contrast between the rich and the poor. The masses cause social unrest

because the wealth gotten from their territory does not get to them. In the Nigerian

society, the best way to acquire wealth is to enter the political sphere. Most of the time

political success is tied to criminal activities. He ends the article by stating that the link

between economic and political power must me broken for progress to be made.

 According to Garcia, Kohl, Ruengsorn and Zislin (2006), Nigeria’s main challenges

include, reducing poverty, diversifying its economy from the oil and gas sector towards

more labor intensive sectors, and improving health and education. The oil has increased

economic volatility and inflation while those living in poverty being most vulnerable to

volatility and inflation. To add to it, instability of government revenues and a crowding

out of agriculture (which provides the source of income to the poor) have made the

situation worsen. The oil industry does not employ a sizeable number of unskilled

workers, thereby contributes little to reducing poverty.

2.1.7 Causes of Poverty in Nigeria

Most analysts agree that like the phenomenon itself, the causes of poverty in Nigeria are

multidimensional. Economists have for example zeroed on both macro and micro factors as the

25
culprits. The latter include declining productivity growth of the nation’s economy, inflation, low

utilization of industrial capacities etc. (Edoh, 2003).

However, to concentrate on or emphasize economic variables alone is to miss the dynamics of

the problem. The economic variables in the case of Nigeria must be taken together with a host of

other social, political and cultural factors. Against this background we identify the following as

some of the causes of poverty in Nigeria.

i. Income Inequality

Inequality implies a concentration of a distribution, whether one is considering

income, consumption or some other welfare indicators or attributes (see Oyekale,

Oyekale and Adeoti, 2007). There was an increase in income disparity after the

economic growth which Nigeria experienced between1965-1975, and this income

inequality has increased the dimension of poverty in the country (Oluwatayo, 2008).

The income inequality between the people in rural and urban areas in Nigeria is

remarkably high, as those who live in the rural areas base all their income on

agriculture which is today not a thriving sector in Nigeria as oil has taken over the

economy. They do not invest their money to acquire skills as people in the urban

areas would and this makes them more vulnerable to poverty and leads to some social

and economic problems such as violence, corruption and so on (Oluwatayo, 2008).

Income inequality has worsened from 0.43 to 0.49 between 2004 and 2009. This is

correlated with differential access to infrastructure and amenities. In particular, ther

are more rural poor than urban poor. This results from the composition of Nigeria’s

26
economy, especially the energy (oil) and agricultural sectors. Oil exports contribute

significantly to government revenues and about 15% of GDP, despite employing only

a fraction of the population. However, Agriculture contributes about 45% of GDP and

employs close to 90% of the rural population.

ii. Ethnic and Civil Unrests

Nigeria has historically expressed much ethnic conflict, with the return to civilian rule

in 1999, militants from religious and ethnic groups have become more violent. While

this unrest has its roots in poverty and economic competition, its economic and

human damages further escalates the problem of poverty.

iii. Political instability and Corruption

Nigeria’s large population and historic ethnic instability has led to the adoption of a

federal system of government. The resultant fiscal decentralization provides Nigeria’s

states and local government’s considerable autonomy including control over 50% of

government’s revenues as well as responsibility for providing public services. The

lack of a stringent regulatory and monitoring system, however, has allowed for

rampant corruption. Resources which could pay for public good or directed towards

investment (and so create employment and other opportunities for citizens) are being

misappropriated. (Wikipedia, 2012).

Transparency International defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for

private gain.” This has become a common act in Nigeria and it has destabilized the

27
political system drastically. Government funds are being misappropriated on a daily

basis by the leaders, who only put the interest of their family and friends at heart

while ignoring the masses. The corruption has eaten so deeply into the government

and economy that everyone seems to be blinded by it. Corruption has almost become

an accepted way of life in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, the government’s income is generated mostly from natural resource

revenues.

This income, instead of being used for developmental purposes, is then circulated

among the political office holders and their families, leaving the rest of the people to

wallow in poverty. Political leaders practically ignore the affairs and wellbeing of

their people who elected them into office. They mismanage and embezzle funds.

There are several issues involved with bad governance in Nigeria, use of wrong

policies, adaptation to wrong policies and implementation of those wrong policies. In

any case, it is clear that Nigeria’s corruption has increased poverty and inequality as

well as contributed to high crime rates.

iv. Neglect of Rural Infrastructure

Rural infrastructure in Nigeria has long been neglected. Investments in health,

education and water supply have been focused largely in the cities. The rural

communities lack roads, good drinking water, hospitals, schools etc. as a result, the

rural community is completely neglected and very poor.

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v. Nigerian Population

As the population swells up every day especially from the North and puts pressure on

diminishing resources, escalating environmental problems which further threaten

food production. Land degradation as a result of extensive agriculture, deforestation

and overgrazing is already severe in many parts of the country. Drought has become

common in the North and erosion provoked by heavy rains, floods and oil pollution is

a major problem in the South and Southeast. Other factors include; poor leadership,

lack of comprehensive National poverty alleviation policy, lack of sound agricultural

policy and protracted neglect of the sector, high level of illiteracy in the North,

excessive external debt burden, child destitution (almajiranchi) in the North etc.

(Wikipedia, 2012).

vi. Laziness

Laziness is a common disease which is virtually suffered by many Nigerians today,

especially those from wealthy households. Everyone wants to be comfortable but they

are not ready to work towards it. This often leads to greed where people will do

whatever they can to keep the family wealth for themselves. In most families,

everyone depends on the bread winner, who works so much to keep the family going

and when he dies the family is likely to become poor because of mismanagement of

funds. In most Nigerian families, the death of the bread winner means the death of the

whole family fortunes; because everyone was depending on him/her to provide

everything.

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vii. Poor Education System

Education can play a major role in reducing poverty. According to the World Bank,

education is central to development. It promotes economic growth, national

productivity and innovation, and values of democracy and social cohesion. In Nigeria,

the population with no education account for most of the poor. The education system

in Nigeria can be regarded as a failure compared to other countries in the world. The

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights8 states that “everyone has the

right to an education.” This right to education has been denied to many Nigerians, of

which many of them can be considered invisible to the society now. This deprivation

of education applies more to females than males, because they are considered the

inferior sex. Hence educating them is seen as unnecessary as they are expected to

marry as early as possible.

viii. Unemployment

Unemployment is a major factor contributing to poverty in Nigeria. There is a strong

correlation between unemployment and poverty. When people are unemployed, their

source of livelihood depletes over time. The cost of living becomes high and the standard

of living goes down. There are many people in Nigeria who lack the opportunity of being

employed. The formal unemployment rate in Nigeria as estimated by the World Bank in

2007 was 4.9 percent and Nigeria ranked 61st across the worlds countries (CIA Fact

book).

As reported by Teshome (2008), the then newly released African Development Indicators

report of the World Bank showed that “education, once seen as the surest, undisputed

30
gateway to employment, no longer looks so certain.” This is very true in the case of

Nigeria. The fact that you are an educated Nigerian is no guarantee that you will be

employed. Furthermore, according to the World Bank report, unemployment in Africa is

higher among those who have attained a higher education of some kind, and also those in

wealthy households because they depend solely on the wealth of their families and do not

consider employment a priority.

Many graduates in Nigeria wander the streets without anything reasonable to do for a

living. The government is capable but unwilling to provide jobs for them. Employment in

Nigeria is usually not based on merit but depends on how connected you are with people

that have power. This leaves many highly qualified people in poverty as seemingly no

one cares to know what they are capable of achieving. These people are missing out on

the income they would have gotten if they were employed. The number of quality jobs in

the economy is low and many government resources are misallocated.

Unemployment-induced poverty tends to increase the crime rate and violence in the

country. Most unemployed youths resort to crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping for

ransom, internet fraud and other forms of fraudulent activities. The reservation wage they

get from these activities is typically barely enough to take care of their basic necessities.

2.1.8 Solutions to Poverty in Nigeria

There are so many ways to end poverty in Nigeria and some of them are;

i. Education:

An educated child has a promising future, and on the contrary not just a promising future,

but an educated child can bring something to the table of the economy of Nigeria. In so

many foreign countries, people have a way of making the youths go forward and do

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exploit, invent things and break records, this will no doubt set the record of the economy

of the country straight and a lot of people will benefit from this initiative. Education in a

child helps to broaden the mentality of such a child and makes the child be a free thinker

in most cases. Education will help you to open your mind to different opinions and settle

for the best.

ii. Acquire a skill:

The truth is not everyone is made to be in school, not everyone has the patience to be in

school, but that does not mean that you have to be a nuisance and live off of bread

crumbs thrown at you. The truth is, in whatever you do, you must strive for excellence,

and it is not in any way compulsory to go to school to achieve your goals. Many great

men on earth did not sit down in the four walls of a classroom, they put their hands to

good use. Learning a trade or acquisition of a skill will go a long way to eradicate poverty

in the lives of so many people and in the economy at large.

iii. The government should invest in the country tries own resources:

The government should desist from going abroad for every single thing and invest its

money on its own resources.

iv. Do away with child marriage:

As much as anyone does not consider this to be one of the reasons to eradicate poverty it

is. A child who is supposed to have a future and add to the growth of the economy of its

country is forced into a marriage at a young age. This is done by a myopic and poverty

stricken individual and in the end, such a child will be left with nothing other than what

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she has learnt from her parents and husband which is not even enough to carry on in the

world.

Some other ways to end poverty in Nigeria are;

 Make provisions for privately owned enterprises in the country.

 Have a plan and budget for the economy and see it through.

 Put the government officials to work in different parts of the country and make them

know that the people come first in everything.

 The government should be selfless and set their goals.

 Rule of law (nobody should be above the law).

 Make provisions for indigenous farming.

2.2 Theoretical Framework

2.2.1 Poverty Theories

Poverty, as a social phenomenon has attracted the interest of researchers and its reduction

programs are designed in response to theories that justify such interventions. The paradigm of

poverty has a direct bearing on the alleviation measures adopted (Bradshaw, 2005). Poverty

reduction strategies require an effective assessment and a clear understanding of how key factors

affect the welfare status of households, along with other covariates (John C. Anyanwu, 2014).

Thus, poverty theories are divergent and resulting in different intervention strategies.

This paper analyses poverty in Nigeria through the lenses of the culture of poverty, individual

deficiency theory, progressive social theory, geographical disparities theory, cumulative and

cyclical interdependence theory, poverty individualization and the theory of social exclusion

/cumulative disadvantage.

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2.2.2 The Culture of Poverty

This concept was developed by Oscar Lewis, an American anthropologist as a result of his

studies of the urban poor in Mexico and Puerto Rico. It constitutes a pattern of life, which people

adopt as a community, and is passed from one generation to the next. People adopt a fatalistic

attitude that leaves them feeling marginalized, helpless and inferior. Family life is characterized

by high divorce rates, with mother, children often abandoned.

Individuals do not participate in community life by engaging in voluntary associations, self-help

initiatives and politics (Bradshaw, 2005). They make little use banks, hospitals and other

facilities to enhance their welfare and well-being. Perceptions may be influenced by religious or

cultural beliefs such that people are not psychologically geared towards taking advantage of

changing conditions or available opportunities (Ryan 1976).

Harmful practices and values are absorbed and perpetuated from generation to generation.

The Culture of Poverty is prevalent in developing countries and societies in the early stages of

industrialization as well as among the lower class in advanced capitalist societies. It is a reaction

to low income and lack of opportunities such that people live for the present and believe in luck

rather than effort to achieve success. The culture can be eroded if the causes are removed.

In Nigeria, weak governance, impunity, systemic failures, illiteracy, income inequality,

unemployment and corruption have entrenched this culture manifesting in poor orientation, low

standard of living, and high rate of social ills, political unrest and abuse of religion. Politicians

and government officials tend to be selfish, greedy and corrupt, enriching themselves by looting

from the common wealth of the country. Corruption in Nigeria has a long history and has been a

subject of discourse by many analysts (Aluko, 2002). Unfortunately, the public is unenlightened

34
and gullible to shallow intellectualism and sentimentalism allowing corruption and its fruits to

thrive (Oshewolo, 2010). There tends to be no accountability in public and community service.

Greed and selfishness seem to be embedded in the psyche of an average Nigerian in leadership

position. Funds meant for development are mismanaged and embezzled by corrupt government

officials. Good values and hard work are unrewarded and ill-gotten wealth is lauded and

celebrated. Indiscipline, bribery and corruption, extortion, nepotism and tribalism are acceptable

norms in every sphere (Smith, 2010).

The rule of law is abused and structures of checks and balances are manipulated to the advantage

of the privileged few. Politics is perceived as a very lucrative venture and an opportunity to

become rich or relevant rather than a call to service. It is characterized by ‘godfatherism’,

imposition of unpopular candidates and sycophancy. Ewhrudjakpor (2008) notes that Nigeria is

socio-economically backward even with her abundant oil wealth and 70 percent of her

population is still under the scourge of poverty and recommends that government must legislate

against inappropriate behavior and corruption of government officials to overcome poverty.

This culture is also manifested in the slow transition from the analogue to the digital economy in

developing countries, (Nigeria inclusive) where access to and adoption of the facilities of

information and communication technology such as the internet, broadband, mobile money etc.

is poor (World Development Report 2016 Working Version, 2015). Often times, this is as a

result of a warped mentality caused by cultural and religious inhibitions where people are

negatively influenced to oppose westernization and secularism to avoid erosion of societal

values, norms and culture. All these negative behaviors impact on the how resources are

35
distributed in Nigeria and contribute to the high incidence of poverty in Nigeria. Based on this

theory, poverty can be overcome if deliberate and genuine reorientation is imbibed or commonly

adopted, otherwise, this culture will continue in a vicious cycle and be passed on from one

generation to the next inflicting poverty on the population.

2.2.3 Individual Deficiency Theory

This theory attributes poverty to individual deficiencies. The poor are assumed to be responsible

for creating their problems through lack of hard work and bad choices. Other variations to this

theory ascribe poverty to lack of certain genetic attributes, intelligence and even punishment

from God for sins committed.

Neo- classical economists reinforce individualistic sources of poverty with the assumption that

individuals are responsible for their choices in maximizing their wellbeing through wise

investment. The theory cast the poor as a moral hazard with claims that poverty persist because

the poor are not doing enough or are engaged in activities which are counterproductive

(Gwartney & McCaleb,1985). Poverty reduction is achievable through skills acquisition, hard

work, motivation and resilience.

This can be applicable in the context of poverty analysis in Nigeria. Poverty has been aggravated

by failure of individuals to take responsibility for their destinies in order to have a brighter

future. Failure of individuals to acquire adequate skills and training could lead to loss of career

opportunities and result in poverty. In analyzing how individuals make wrong choice which

inflict poverty, Dike (2009) explains that the wrong attitude and mentality towards technical and

36
vocational subjects by youths in Nigeria makes them “lack the skills and knowledge to compete

effectively in the rather tight labor market and thus loiter around in the villages and cities from

dawn to dusk looking for jobs that are not available”. Non- enrolment in schools, laziness,

indiscipline and engagement in crime and other social ills are personal choices that could result

in poverty for individuals. Such could have far reaching adverse effects on an individual’s

household as the economic status of parents have a strong impact on the opportunities and

academic performance of their children (Osonwa, 2013). Poverty induced by individual

deficiencies can be alleviated if all stakeholders including government and policy makers

provide the needed support; opportunities and incentives that help people make right choices to

evade poverty.

2.2.4 Progressive Social Theory

Proponents of this theory do not view individuals as the source of poverty but economic, political

and social distortions as well as discrimination, which limit opportunities and resources to create

wealth and overcome poverty. The 19th century social theorists waged a full attack on the

individual theory of poverty by exploring how social and economic systems overrode and

created individual poverty situations. They analyze how the economic system of capitalism

created a reserve army of the unemployed as a deliberate strategy to keep wages low (Bradshaw,

2005). They argue that people may work hard and have acceptable attitudes but still be in the

poverty trap because of dysfunctional social and economic systems.

The theory ascribes poverty to economic, social and political structures that make the poor fall

behind regardless of how committed they may be. Another category of system flaws associated

with poverty relates to groups of people being discriminated against based on personal attributes

37
such as race, gender, disability and religion, which limit their opportunities in spite of their

personal capabilities.

In Nigeria, government policies and actions exacerbate poverty. These may be adopted in pursuit

of good intentions, but poor implementation could impoverish the citizens. The SAP and its

various fallouts in the form of massive devaluation of the Naira, high inflation, factory closures,

privatization, commercialization, appropriate pricing of petroleum products and unlimited free

market contributed to the poverty situation. The political economy of Nigeria has contributed

immensely to the level of poverty in the country. There is strong correlation between the

character of governance and the degree of poverty in Nigeria (Omoyibo, 2013). Onyishi and

Ezeibe (2014) further explain that: In Nigeria, after the attainment of flag independence,

ubiquitous state involvement in the emergent national economy took on even greater dimension.

The incipient oil-economy provided further impetus as the resources available to the public

multiplied almost geometrically. State power and positions were now increasingly seen as the

most viable and rapid avenues for acquisition of private capitals. Thus, state positions offered

greater attraction to Nigerians, as experience had shown that they became the surest means to

riches, affluence and prestige in the Nigerian society. To this extent, state power became wealth

and wealth an efficacious pathway to power.

The structure of Nigeria’s economy has also worsened the poverty situation. Its productive base

is narrow and undiversified with the economy largely dependent on oil revenue while other

critical sectors are neglected. This situation has hampered economic growth and capacity

utilization leading to macroeconomic instability and poverty. Inadequate provision of social and

38
economic infrastructure by government has also led to deterioration of the standard of living and

contributed to poverty in Nigeria. Failure to invest in the power sector resulting in high cost of

production and high prices of locally manufactured goods has led to collapse of the

manufacturing sector. Similarly, the country has lost her international market share in

agricultural exports due to neglect and removal of incentives that drive growth in the agricultural

sector. Nigeria has great potential for massive job creation, expansion of markets and

industrialization given her human and natural resources but remains limited by structural

distortions and lack of the will to bring about progressive change on the part of successive

governments. Misplacement of priorities by governments at all levels manifesting in wasteful

expenditure rather than investment in critical sectors that have direct bearing on the standard of

living, has aggravated poverty in Nigeria.

Policies relating to empowerment of women and equal rights for the disabled have contributed to

poverty. Bias, discrimination on the basis of ethnicity and religion, and non-adherence to

principles of true federalism and federal character in appointments and projects distribution have

led to many ethno-religious conflicts and social unrests in Nigeria resulting in wanton

destruction of lives and property thereby worsening the poverty situation of the country.

2.2.5 Geographical Disparities Theory

This theory focuses on poverty in geographical perspective e.g. rural poverty, ghetto poverty,

southern poverty, third world poverty etc. It calls attention to the fact that people, institutions and

cultures in certain areas lack access to opportunities for wealth creation. This theory is closely

linked to the economic agglomeration theory which shows how the concentration of similar

firms attract supportive services and markets which further attracts more firms while

impoverished communities generate more poverty, low housing prices in such areas attract more

39
people. This type of poverty can be addressed through community development distressed

locations where poverty is rampant (Bradshaw, 2005).

This theory is applicable in the Nigerian context where poverty is prevalent in some geographical

locations: rural areas, slums and areas prone to natural disasters such as floods, draught and

desert encroachment. The level of economic activities is low leading high rates of unemployment

and other manifestations of poverty. The gross neglect of rural areas in the provision of social

amenities and empowerment opportunities by successive governments have led to an imbalance

and a wide divide between rural and urban dwellers resulting in challenges of rural –urban drift.

Poverty is high because governments and communities have not tapped the resources and

opportunities in the disadvantages areas to improve the wellbeing of the populations. And so,

food shortages, housing crisis, low electricity (power) generation, fuel crisis and other

deprivations persist in a country well-endowed with vast and arable land, rivers, waterfalls,

mineral deposits and other resources that could yield immense benefits if properly utilized.

Populations in disadvantaged areas live in sub-human conditions and are afflicted with poverty

and absence of opportunities to escape it.

2.2.6 Cyclical Interdependence Theory

The theory builds on the components of the other theories of poverty. It has its origin in the

works of (Myrdal 1957) who developed a theory of interlocking circular interdependence within

a process of cumulating causation that explains economic development and underdevelopment.

He analyses how personal and community welfare are closely linked in a cascade of negative

Consequences-Lack of employment opportunities can lead to emigration, closing of retails

stores, decline in local tax revenues, deterioration of schools, poorly trained workers, inability of

40
firms to adopt cutting edge technology and lack of incentives to attract new firms which leads to

greater unemployment and continues in a vicious cycle of poverty. For an individual,

unemployment leads to low consumption, low spending, low savings and investments, loss of

self-confidence, weak motivation and depression etc. One problem leads to multiple problems

and generate poverty.

In Nigeria, unemployment is a key causal factor of poverty Nigeria and its steady increase spells

calamity for her citizens. With an unemployment rate of 10.4% in Q4 2015, a total of 22.45

million individuals in the Nigerian labor force are either unemployed or underemployed

(National Bureau of Statistics, 2016). Consequently, there is a high dependency ratio which puts

a lot of strains and pressure on the privileged few who may indulge in corrupt practices to meet

up with family and societal expectations. This in turn leads to inefficiency in productivity, lack

of accountability, poor service delivery and low performance and eventually lead to systemic

failures and aggravating poverty in the country. There is therefore an intertwining of factors

where one problem leads to another and eventually engulfs the entire country affecting everyone

directly or indirectly.

2.2.7 Poverty Individualization

The concept of poverty was developed by Beck based on the German experience (Bak & Larsen,

2015). It is a recent theory which challenges the traditional theories was are largely based on

class division. Beck’s analysis offers an explanation on the paradox in which “the patterns of

social inequality have remained relatively stable yet the living conditions of the population have

changed dramatically”(Beck, 1992). Thus, the class society has given way to the individualised

society where individual behaviour is now less connected to norms and values in a traditional

41
sense and less dependent on collective identity in terms of social class (Bak & Larsen, 2015).

This implies that people are leading individualistic lives with their distinct identities; therefore,

poor people are a heterogeneous group (many faces of poverty). On this basis, the theory has

three verifiable propositions namely; poverty democratisation, poverty temporalisation and

poverty biographisation,

i. Poverty Democratization:- The theory of poverty democratisation infers that many

people are affected by the scourge of poverty in varying degrees but are not equally

vulnerable to it. It is an individual experience affecting so many people

simultaneously.

ii. Poverty Temporalisation:- Temporalisation implies that poverty is experienced on a

temporary basis; short-term, medium, long single period or repeated period in a life

time. There is a time dimension to the experience of poverty.

iii. Poverty Biographisation:- Biographisation links poverty to certain life events and

biographical transitions in life e.g. period of ill health, divorce, single parenthood, job

hunting etc.

The structure of poverty in Nigeria also validates this theory as statistics on employment by

National Bureau of Statistics (2016) show categorization of unemployed persons on the basis of

age groups, educational qualifications and occupation. Unemployment has a strong correlation

with poverty, and so it provides an evidence and explanation for the structure of poverty in

Nigeria. The nature of poverty in Nigeria is complex and multidimensional as posited by this

theory. There is no single strategy or framework that could lead to its eradication because

42
experiences, belief and value systems differ across the country. There are causal factors of

poverty that can be addressed as isolated cases and others that require a holistic approach with

consideration of individual circumstances, prevailing environmental factors and social realities.

2.2.8 Theory of Social Exclusion /Cumulative Disadvantage

The concept of poverty has been redefined and broadened in recent years to cover other spheres

of human existence. Hence, from the 1990s, the European Union has focused on the term ‘social

exclusion’ to encompass other forms of deprivations or denial of rights, goods and services, and

the inability to participate in the normal relationships and activities, available to the majority of

people in a society, whether in economic, social, cultural or political arenas (Levitas et al., 2007).

Marlier and Atkinson (2010) relate the concept of social exclusion to the lack of voice, power,

and representation whereby individuals and groups are involuntarily barred from political,

economic, and social activities, preventing their full involvement in the society in which they

live.

Labonté, Hadi, and Kauffmann (2011) define it as a situation in which people are deprived from

participating in economic, social, political and cultural activities at a level considered to be

normatively acceptable. Social exclusion focuses less on the state than on the processes leading

to it, primarily a lack of: material resources (social necessities) income to acquire such

necessities and/or state subsidies for their provision access to formal labor markets access to

affordable/adequate housing access to educational and health care opportunities freedom from

discrimination opportunities for social participation (social networks) power or voice to affect

the policy choices of governments influencing all of the above conditions. A review of existing

43
social exclusion frameworks, indicators and measures led to identification of nine principle

domains that capture processes of social exclusion/inclusion: employment and work income and

economic resources material resources education and skills health housing social resources

community resources personal safety

In their study, Gallie, Paugam, and Jacobs (2003) found that poverty leads to a vicious circle of

social exclusion. They observe that unemployment makes people vulnerable to poverty, and

poverty in turn makes it more difficult for people to return to work thereby increasing the risk of

social isolation. Income generated from a productive activity determines one’s level of poverty

and is a significant measure of the degree of isolation, stigmatization and sense of belonging to a

community (Stewart et al., 2009). While social exclusion is being associated with unemployment

and level of income Gallie et al. (2003) however notes that these are dependent on socio-cultural

factors such as household structure and patterns of local sociability in different contexts.

The perspectives of poverty based on the theory of social exclusion dwell on cumulative

disadvantage whereby a comfortable majority co-exists with a disadvantaged minority who are

collectively excluded from socio-economic opportunities in the society. It runs contrary to the

individualization perspective, which views poverty as a relatively transient and individualistic

phenomenon or experience. The individualization theory views poverty as a phenomenon which

is independent of traditional stratification factors (Layte & Whelan, 2002).

In applying both perspectives to the nature of poverty in Nigeria, there are evidences to show

how poverty ravages socially excluded people (e.g. People living with disability, rural/slum

dwellers) and how poverty is experienced at an individual level. Both perspectives appear to be

valid in understanding the manifestations of poverty in Nigeria.

44
2.3 Empirical Review

2.3.1 Previous Poverty Alleviation Programs in Nigeria

To reduce poverty various schools of thought advocates a number of measures (Ajayi, 2011).

Nigeria gained her political independent on October 1, 1960 from the British government. With

political independence, various successive governments had taken different strategies aimed at

alleviating poverty and thereby making Nigerians to be self-reliant economically. The following

strategies amongst others have been undertaken by successive Nigerian governments.

i. At independence, government first attempt was the farm settlement center. This

attempt was to develop the food-sub sector for both the cash crop and the food crop.

Few years later, the programme was short lived as it was described a failure by the

Gowon Administration that came in 1967.

ii. The General Gowon Administration later introduced the agricultural Development

project (ADP) in 1973. The ADP was then jointly financed by the World Bank and

the Federal and State governments. The programme was then aimed at promoting

integrated rural development.

iii. The Olusegun Obasanjo administration in 1976 introduced the defunct operation feed

the nation (OFN). The major aim of the OFN programme was to raise the awareness

of Nigerians towards self-sufficiency in food production. With all the money pumped

into OFN, the programme did not produce the expected appreciable positive result at

increasing food production.

iv. Again, the Obasanjo government promulgated a decree to ensure that land-tenure

system was abolished that all land belongs to the government. The policy was aimed

45
at ensuring that people were not hindered in their attempt to farm. It was believed that

with more food production, there would be better standard of living for the citizenry.

v. During the second republic (1979 – 1983), former president Shehu Shagari introduced

the "Green Revolution". Though Nigerian forest had been green before the green

revolution, the programme again could not go far as there was no zeal and

commitment by the operators of the programme.

Again, during the second Republic, the government introduced "austerity measures".

It was a policy aimed at ensuring that people spend wisely. The austerity measure

came in as a result of the extravagance spending of the civilian government of the

second republic both at state and at the federal levels.

vi. The Babangida regime in 1986 introduced "the structural Adjustment Programme”

(SAP). It was a programme, which was aimed at making Nigeria reliance industrially.

Though SAP in principle was a good programme, but the then government of the

country was not committed to its faithful implementation.

vii. Another major step aimed at alleviating poverty in Nigeria is the National Directorate

of Employment (NDE) by the Babaginda Administration. The NDE's sole aim then

was to reduce unemployment with greater emphasis on self-reliance and

entrepreneurship. The programme was very laudable but it was not faithfully

implemented.

The Directorate of foods, roads and rural infrastructure (DFRRI) was another laudable

programme by the Babangida government (1985 - 1993) which was aimed at alleviating poverty.

The main aim of DFRRI was to open-up rural areas, construct feeder roads and bridges, water

46
supply etc. Again, the officials in charge of DFRRI became corrupt and the programme lost

focus.

i. The Peoples Bank was another laudable programme by the Babangida

Administration, which was aimed at giving small loans to small and medium scale

enterprises. As laudable as the programme was, it suffered same fate of the "Nigerian

factor" of corruption.

ii. The better life for rural women was initiated by the wife of former president

Babangida. The programme was aimed at raising the standard of living of rural

women. Though the programme was good, it was hijacked by urban elite women.

Nigeria then believed that the faces they were seeing on Better Life programme were

not that of rural women but that of urban elite and affluent women.

iii. It must be noted that government created the family Economic Advancement

Programme (FEAP) in 1997, which was meant to be giving loans to Nigerians. Again,

officials in charge of this programme turned it to a family project with Nepotism,

being the order of the day.

iv. The Obasanjo Administration set up Nigerian Economic Policy in 1999-2003. The

programme was to enable Nigerians to be better placed towards articulating ways of

using its subsequent annual budget to realize the developmental goals stated in their

policy statement.

The Olusegun Obasanjo administration since inception in 1999 put up a number of measures

aimed at alleviating the suffering of Nigerian masses. Such policies include:

i. The adoption of measures to stimulate production and broaden the supply base of the

Nigerian economy.

47
ii. The government has also reformed the tariff policies on a number of times with the

aim of promoting industrial diversification and economic sustenance.

iii. The deregulation of the nation's economy, which was aimed at returning many

government businesses to private hands in order to promote efficiency. It is believed

that with efficiency, there will be better and more production of goods and services

which will improve the living standard of the people.

iv. The recent debt reduction/cancellation crusade is another bold step aimed at

alleviating poverty. With debt reduction, managing the funds which had hitherto been

used to service debts could now be judiciously spent internally to improve the living

standard of Nigerians.

2.3.2 why is poverty alleviation programmes in Nigeria not yielding the desired result

Although analyzing eah of the poverty reduction in Nigeria looks ideal, such exercise has been

done by several tudies and they seem to agree substantially on the reasons for the failure of the

numerous poverty intervention measures. Jega (2003) was equivocal in his agreement with the

problems identified by Ajakiaye (2003) ass the bane of poverty alleviation eradication

programmes in Nigeria. Ajakiaye in his work identified the following problems associated with

the successive poverty reduction prograammes

- Policy inconsistency and poor governance

- Ineffective targeting of the poor (leading to leakage of benefits to unintended

beneficiaries

- Unwieldy scope of the programmes resulting in rsources being thiny spread among

projects

- Overlapping of functions with ultimately led to institutional rivalry and conflicts

48
- Lack of complementarities form beneficiaries

- Uncoordinated sectorial policy initiatives

- Lack of involvement of social partners and other stake holders in planning,

implementation and evaluation, and

- Poor human capital development and inadequate funding.

The presidential panel on streaming and rationalization of poverty alleviation institutions and

agencies in its main report of 1999 listed some reasons it considered most relevant that account

for the failure of the wide array of Nigeria’s poverty intervention measures. The reasons accord

substantially to those above with the following as addition:

i. Gross mismanagement and lack of financial discipline

ii. Poor an inconsistent funding

iii. Policy inconsistencies occasioned by frequent changes in Government and absence of

in-built sustainability mechanism, and

iv. Absence of a coordinating body necessary for effective implementation co-ordination,

planning monitoring and evaluation of achievements and constraints.

CHAPTER THREE

49
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This research work is to study the effects of poverty in Eggon Local Government area of

Nasawara State. It is primarily aimed at investigating the possible causes of high rate of poverty

in the society/community of Eggon Local Government Area of Nasawara State and to assess the

various ways through which Poverty affects the lives of people. This is in view to recommend

measures of eradicating Poverty in the Society. This chapter consists headings which includes

research design, population of the study, sample and sampling techniques, instrumentation,

validity of instrument, reliability of instrument, method of data collection and method of data

analysis

3.2 Research Design

Design is the “specification of procedures for collecting and analyzing the data necessary to help

solve the problem such that the difference between the cost of obtaining various levels of

accuracy and the expected value of information associated with each level of accuracy is

maximized”. It comprises a series of prior decisions and provides a master plan for executing a

research project.

This research study is a descriptive type; it is design to find the effect of Poverty on in the

society of Eggon Local Government Area of Nasawara state. The researcher(s) will sort the

opinion of respondents with the aid of questionnaires which are based on certain variables such

as ages, marital status, occupation and number of children. Due to limitation in resources (time

and money) the researcher(s) cannot visit all the schools and household in Niger state local

government and therefore will concentrate on some sample parts.

50
3.3 Population of the Study

In this research work Eggon Local Government community constituted the population studied.

However, the population of this study includes, teachers, business men and women, school

students of Eggon Local Government area of Nasarawa state. This research hopes to cover a few

selected schools and businesses in Eggon Local Government area of Nasarawa State and out of

the schools and businesses visited five (5) would be selected each making a total of Ten(10).

The selection of the school will be based on spatial location, size of the classes, type and nature

of the school system i.e either day or boarding, mixed sexes or single etc. The schools to be

selected will represent the whole secondary schools in Eggon Local Government area of

Nasawara state.

TABLE 1: Some Selected Secondary Schools in Eggon Local Government Area of Nasawara

State

S/N SCHOOLS

1. Eggon Community Secondary School

2. Frontal School

3 Government Secondary School

4. St. Murumbas Nursery and Primary School

5. Government College Nasarawa Eggon

SOURCE: Ministry of Education Nasarawa State.

TABLE 2: Some Selected Business in Eggon Local Government Area of Nasawara State

S/N SCHOOLS

51
1. E-Kotech Innovative Institute

2. Mr Sun Computer Enterprise

3. Landmark Books

4. Board Fern Limited

5. Wale Robinson Auto

Source: Field Survey

The above schools were under the direct supervision of Ministry of Education and Ministry of

and Technical Education respectively. This is to ensure that the schools selected are subjected to

the same administrative conditions. Moreover, a deliberate attempt will be made to ensure an

equal treatment of these selected schools as much as possible.

3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques.

A sample was determined to obtain a broad view on the economic implication of electronic

banking from the bank under study based on this the population of one (hundred) was targeted.

Thus, from the target population the sample size was determined using the formulae below:

n= N
1+n (e) 2
Where n = sample size
N = the target population (100)
e = margin of error (5%)
n= 100
1+100 (0.05)2

= 100 = 100 = 80
1+0.25 1.25
3.5 Data collection instrument and validation

The instrument of data collection for this research work was through distributed questionnaires.

52
The primary data were adopted in this research work. Data in the category were collected mainly

though visits, personal participation and observation and distribution of questionnaires to the

areas.

3.6 Data Analysis Techniques

To accomplish the research, analysis of the data was of utmost importance since the data

collected was in disarray and as such cannot make any meaning to the reader.

Direct report of the qualitative data from observation has been made while descriptive statistics

was utilized in the analysis of the descriptive data collected from questionnaires to generate

frequencies and parentages. Statistical analysis will be carried out on each of the research

questions based on the data extracted from the computation of data which was affected using

simple parentages after which comparisons were done to determine the effectiveness in

achieving the desired objectives.

3.7 Sources of Data

Data for this research was collected from three sources: teachers, businessmen and women and

students. Data was collected over two months due to the delay in reaching most participants and

awkward times stated by the participants, however, the amount of data collected was enough to

reach a workable conclusion with respect to the research aims

53
CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS

4.1 Introduction

The method of data analysis was based on the statistical table format using frequency distribution

and consequently converted into percentages for easy analysis. Each tabular presentation

represents the analysis of each question in the questionnaire which was subsequently described

and with further discussion.

In all, (80) questionnaires were administered of which 75 were returned the 75 questionnaires

received formed the basis for our analysis and conclusion.

4.2 Data Presentation

Presentation and analysis of questionnaires will be presented in two parts. Part A; will be the

simple table and simple percentage for the response to the questionnaires of students/teachers

and community / businessmen and women. While part B will be test for the hypothesis through

the use of t- test.

PART A. (STUDENTS QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS)

Q1. Does poverty play any significant role in child upbringing? Yes/No

TABLE 1

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Yes 55 73.3%

No 20 26.7%

54
TOTAL 75 100%

Source: Field Survey

From the table above 73.3% responded yes to weather the home play significant role in child

upbringing and 26.7% responded No to this. Therefore, this can lean to a tentative conclusion

that poverty plays a vital role in child upbringing as analysed above.

Q2. To what extent does poverty in a home influence socialization process of a child?

Table 2

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

To a greater extent 53 70.7%

Some Extent 15 20%

Average 7 9.3%

None - -

TOTAL 75 100%

Source: Field Survey 2011

From the above, 70.7 per cent of respondents are of the view that poverty influences the

socialization process of a child while 20% said it is to some extent, and 9.3 per cent are on the

average.

55
Q3: What do you think can cause poverty?

Table 3

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE


Lack of Caring 30 40%
Corruption 41 54.7%
Insecurity 4 5.3%
TOTAL 75 100%
Source: field Survey 2011

From the table, 54.7 that corruption leads to poverty while 40% say lack of caring, and 5.3% say

otherwise.

The table above indicates poverty could be caused by corruption as 54.7 % respondents who

filled the questionnaire are of the opinion as indicated. However, poverty could be caused by

other factors like lack of caring and insecurity which have 54.7 and 5.3 % respectively.

Q4: Does poverty have any effect on student’s achievement?

Table 4

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Yes 50 66.7%

No 25 33.3%

TOTAL 93 100

Source: Field Survey

56
From the analysis of table 4 above, the result shows that poverty have effect on students

achievement, as indicated with the percentage 66.7% of the respondent responded yes while

33.3% responded No.

Q5: How does poverty in the society affect student’s achievement?

Table 5

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE


Encourage them 15 20%
Discourage them 60 80%
TOTAL 75 100%
Source: Field Survey

It is clear from the table above as responded by the students/teachers that students are unable to

go to school as a result of their parents or wards inability to afford tuition fees this was clearly

responded by 80%. While 20% think otherwise; it is pertinent at this juncture to deduce that

poverty discourages students from going to school and getting adequate education.

Q6: Is there any significant difference between the academic performance of students from poor

homes and those from rich homes?

Table 6

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Yes 65 86.7%

No 10 13.3%

Total 75 100

Source: Field Survey

57
There is a significant difference between the academic performances of students from poor

homes and those from rich homes as the table shows those that responded yes to have 86.7%

while those that responded No have 13.3%. Hence from the analysis it can be tentatively reached

that there is significant difference between the academic performances of student’s from poor

homes and those from rich homes. Student from rich homes don’t have issues of paying school

fees and they attend mostly private schools where they get basic needs for learning. While

students from poor backgrounds find it difficult to pay their fees despite they attend public

schools.

Q7: In your own interest are you from a poor home?

Table 7

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Poor 60 80%

Rich 10 13.3%

Average 5 6.7%

Total 93 100

Source: Field Survey

From table 7 80% of the respondents were from poor homes and 13.3% came from rich homes

and 6.7% are on the average as illustrated above.

58
Q8: Do you attend a public or Private school

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Public school 55 73.3%

Private School 20 26.7%

Total 75 100

Source: Field survey

From the analysis above it can be deduced that 73.3% are only able to afford public schools,

while only 26.7% are able to go to Private schools.

BUSINESS MEN/ WOMEN / COMMUNITY QUETIONNAIRE ANALYSIS

Q1: What do you think causes the high rate of poverty in Eggon Local Government?

Table 8

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE


Insecurity/understanding 20 21.5%
Corruption 78.5%
Total 93 100
Source: Field Survey

The respondents in their response to the cause of high rate of Poverty as shown in the table above

observed that high rate of poverty is caused by corruption as it reads 78.5% and insecurity reads

21.5% and from this a partial conclusion can be drawn that corruption leads to the high rate of

Poverty in Eggon Local Government.

59
Q2: What is the impact or effect of poverty on your business?

TABLE 9

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE


It deny them of achieving their dreams of expansion 41 54.7%
It makes them to stand to the challenges 34 45.3%
TOTAL 75 100%
Source: Field Study

The analysis shown on table 9 indicates that poverty affects business by denying them of

achieving their dreams of expansion as it appears from respondents to be 54.7%, though other

responses claims it make them stand to the challenges with 45.3%. Hence, poverty has impact or

effect on businesses.

Q3: How do you think poverty can be controlled in the society?

TABLE 10

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE


Understanding 50 66.7%
Security 5 6.7%
Caring 20 26.6%
TOTAL 75 100%
Source: Field Survey

It is pertinent to deduce from the analysis on the above table that poverty can be better controlled

through understanding among citizens with the number of respondents been 66.7%. Also caring

for each other’s needs could help breech the gap between the rich and the poor as 26.6%

respondents have agreed. Although other factors maybe involve but mutual understanding and

caring supersede all.

60
Q4: In the cause of your business have you or benefited from any poverty alleviation scheme or

programme?

TABLE 11

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE


Yes 27 36%
No 48 64%
TOTAL 75 100%
Source: Field Survey

The analysis from the table above shows that 64% many of respondents have not benefitted from

any poverty alleviation scheme or programme. It can therefore be concluded that government

and NGOs should make more efforts in poverty alleviation programmes.

Q5: Would you like government to assist you in business?

TABLE 12

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE


Yes 45 60%
No 10 13.3%
If they wish 20 26.7%
Total 75 100%
Source: Field Survey

From the analysis above 60% of the respondents respond yes to government’s assistance in their

businesses. This would enable them make more profits and help them send their children to

school. It maintains that schooling improves productivity and education increases productivity

poor or low education likely leads to poverty.

61
Q6: How has poverty affected you, your family and business?

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE


Positively - -
Negatively 70 93.3%
Indifferent 5 6.7%
Total 93 100%
Source: Field Study

From the table above it is quite obvious that poverty has treated a lot of people negatively,

ranging from inadequate health care, unemployment, lack of food and inadequate water supply

etc. 93.3% are of the opinion that poverty is a bad menace that has treats people unfairly.

Q7: How would you like government to assist you?

Table 13

RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE


Grant Micro Loan 50 66.7%
Encourage self help 25 33.3%
Total 75 100%
Source: field Survey

From the table above it can be said that poverty can be reduced by granting micro loan and

encouraging self-help in the sense that 66.7% and 33.3% responded respectively. Therefore it

can be clearly seen from the table above that if the government can help by granting micro loan it

would make the people happy and encourage them in their businesses.

62
Q8: To what extent are the problems of Poverty in the Society?

Table 4.1.5

Problem Large Some Partly No %


extent extent extent

Infrastructure deficiencies such as roads,


electricity safe drinking water and
sanitation, communication, transportation
communication link 30 - - - 40%

Non- provision of adequate equipment in - 10 - 13.3%


public schools

- - - - -
Inadequate skilled teachers

Low income and unemployment 20 - - - 26.7%

Lack of government support on


agriculture such as granting micro loans - - 10 - 13.3%
to farmers and small business.

Low level of awareness of self- - 5 - - 6.7%


empowerment

75 100%
Total

On the list, the problem of poverty in the society includes Infrastructural deficiencies such as

good roads, electricity safe drinking water and sanitation, communication, and transportation. 40

percent of the respondents are of the opinion that it is to a large extent. 20 respondents,

representing 26.7percent respectively identified the problems of Low income and

unemployment, while 10 respondents constituting 13.3 percent said that Non- provision of

adequate equipment in public schools is to some extent. Also 10 respondents constituting 13.3

63
percent are of the opinion that there is Lack of government support on agriculture such as

granting of micro loans to farmers and small business. 5 respondents representing 6.7 percent

complained that there is Low level of awareness of self-empowerment.

4.3 Data Analysis

From the analysis, there is a poor accessibility of education in Nigeria. Some parents are unable

to send their children to schools because of their low income while some parents can only send

their children to public schools because that is what they can afford as 83.9 percent of

respondents said yes to attending public schools.

The findings also show that the government and NGOs have not contributed adequately to

supporting business men and women. This thereby affects their businesses for expansion and

enabling them afford the adequate education for their children and wards.

Furthermore, not much is invested on education in Nigeria. Salaries are inadequate for teachers

to live on. Public schools are not meeting parents’ expectations of providing quality education

for their children.

In addition, basic needs are hard for some parents especially when hunger strikes deeply,

penetrating into peoples’ lives. The compelling questions are: how can education take place

when there is hunger? And how can the children learn when their stomachs are empty? How can

the parents send their children to school when they are sinking in poverty and lack the necessities

for a better education and a better life? Private schools which are well equipped in terms of

resources, facilities and materials are beyond their reach. This seemed to cause a big gap

between the rich and poor and quality education this is agreed by 78.5% of respondents in table

6, it was tentatively agreed upon that there is a significant difference between children from rich

homes and those from poor homes.

64
4.4 Test of hypothesis

This research work at this juncture aims at finding out whether the hypothesis stated out for this

research is achieved or not. Hence the data will be based on the hypotheses. The table below

shows the test as stated for this research which includes:

Hypothesis 1

Ho: There is no significant relationship between poverty and the society

Hi: There is a significant relationship between poverty and the society

Hypothesis 2

Ho: there is no significant relationship between poverty and academic performance of students.

Hi: there is significant relationship between poverty and academic performance of students.

TABLE 24:

Test for hypotheses table.

HYPOTHESES LEVEL OF CALCULATED TABULATED DECISION


SIGNIFICANT TEST TEST
TEST
1 0.05 5.63 4.30 REJECTED
2 0.05 2.04 4.30 ACCEPTED
Source: Research Data/ Mathematical and Statistical table

65
4.5 Discussion of Findings

The table above shows the test for the hypotheses stated for the research it can be deducted from

the result that hypotheses stated for the research were to reject of accept Ho using the rule of

thumb of t-test which stated that when T-tabulated is greater than T-Calculated accept Ho and

reject Hi, but when T-calculated is greater than T- tabulated reject Ho and accept Hi for the

result above T- calculated is greater than t- tabulate in hypotheses one, so therefore we conclude

that there is significant relationship between poverty and the society.

Lastly, in hypothesis two, the T-calculated is greater than T-tabulated so therefore, we conclude

that there is significant relationship between poverty and academic performance.

66
CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Summary

Poverty is rampant in Nigeria with particular reference to Nasarawa Eggon Local Government

area and its incidence has been on the increase. This work therefore concludes that poverty

eradication in Nigeria is a difficult and herculean task as efforts so far exerted by various past

administrations has relatively been futile. Poverty has weighty consequences on the poor, the

family and on the society. Once poverty is not broken it breeds vicious poverty at higher level. It

causes lack of regard for constituted authority. It breeds hunger, social rejection and dejection

and in the extreme case, it can lead to armed robbery.

The issue of poverty alleviation should be taken with all sense of seriousness it deserves and not

ordinary paying lip-service to it.

5.2 Conclusion

Poverty is multi-dimensional and even though it is difficult to separate the various dimensions of

poverty from the various causes of poverty, in the case of Nigeria using Eggon Local

government area as a case study we have shown that unemployment, corruption, the non-

diversification of Nigeria’s economy, inequality, laziness, and poor education system are some

of the key determinants of poverty. These determinants are many times related to each other and

also enforce each other. For example, unemployment, poor education and poverty can be seen as

vicious cycle. Today people who are not educated lack the opportunity of being hired for good

jobs, and the poor masses today still cannot afford to go to school which makes them the poor

unemployed masses tomorrow. Hence all these factors are correlated and must all be tackled

together if any progress wants to be made.

67
Being educated does not necessarily mean you will be employed. Many people graduate from

school and stay for years without a job. This is partly due to a lack of employment opportunity as

well as corruption. Many offices hire solely by preference not by merit.

Preferential treatments have become the order of the day, and this increases the number of

unemployed graduates. Nigeria needs to do more for the employment of young graduates, which

will also help in reducing crime rates, as many youths resort to crime for survival.

5.3 Recommendation

1. Improvement in the quality of life via enhanced national basic infrastructure, such as

roads, electricity safe drinking water and sanitation, communication, transportation. Etc.

2. Government policy on poverty alleviation should follow a multi-sectorial approach where

all the stake holders are given specific roles to play.

3. All those likely to participate in any form of poverty reduction programs must undergo

capacity building and ethical orientation training

4. Improvement in the quality of life of the poor via enhanced national food security.

5. Attainment of basic education for all irrespective of location, sex, religion or tribe.

6. Facilitation of access to basic health services as a means of improving the health status of

the nation.

7. Improved access to credit facilities productive resources and employment opportunities

for all, irrespective of status, sex, location or tribe

8. Improved access and affordable education for all

68
9. Enhanced ability of the poor to participate in decision making process via educational

empowerment.

69
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APPENDIX I

Department of Arts and Social Sciences,

National Open University of Nigeria,

Wuse II Study Center.

24th February, 2019.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a final year student of the above mentioned department undertaking a research on “the

effect of poverty on the society” (A Case Study of Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa

State) in partial fulfillment of the award of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) Degree in Peace Studies

and Conflict Resolution.

It would be appreciated if you grant me answers to the questions contained.

Be assured that all information will be treated with utmost confidence and will be used for the

purpose of this study.

Josephine Ajuma Etubi

Yours Faithfully,

81
APPENDIX II

QUESTIONNAIRE

Please tick () or fill in the gap in the appropriate place:

1. What is your name?……………………………….……….

2. What is your occupation?........................................

3. Sex?

(a) Male

(b) Female

PART A. (STUDENTS QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS)

4. Does poverty play any significant role in child upbringing? Yes/No

(a) Yes

(b) No

5. To what extent does poverty in a home influence socialization process of a child?

a) To a greater extent

b) Some Extent

c) Average

d) None

82
6. What do you think can cause poverty?

(a) Insecurity

(b) Lack of Caring

(c) Corruption

7. Q4: Does poverty have any effect on student’s achievement?

(a) Yes

(b) No

8. How does poverty in the society affect student’s achievement?

(a) Encourage them

(b) Discourage them

9. Is there any significant difference between the academic performance of students from poor

homes and those from rich homes?

(a) Yes

(b) No

83
(a) Large extent

(b) Some extent

(c) Partially

(d) No extent

10. In your own interest are you from a poor home?

(a) Poor

(b) Rich

(c) Average

11. Do you attend a public or Private school

(a) Public School

(b) Private School

BUSINESS MEN/ WOMEN / COMMUNITY QUETIONNAIRE ANALYSIS

1. What do you think causes the high rate of poverty in Eggon Local Government?

(a) Insecurity/understanding

(b) Corruption

2. What is the impact or effect of poverty on your business?

(a) It deny them of achieving their dreams of expansion

84
(b) It makes them to stand to the challenges

3. Q3: How do you think poverty can be controlled in the society? (G.D.P)?

(a) Understanding

(b) Security

(c) Caring

4. In the cause of your business have you or benefited from any poverty alleviation scheme

or programme?

(a) Yes

(b) No

5. Would you like government to assist you in business?

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) If they wish

6. How has poverty affected you, your family and business?

(a) Positively

(b) Negatively

(c) Indifferent

85
7. How would you like government to assist you?

(a) Grant Micro Loan

(b) Encourage self help

8. To what extent are the problems of Poverty in the Society?

i. Infrastructure deficiencies such as roads, electricity safe drinking water and sanitation,
communication, transportation communication link

(a) Large extent

(b) Some extent

(c) Partially

(d) No extent

ii. Non- provision of adequate equipment in public schools

a) Large extent

(b) Some extent

(c) Partially

(d) No extent

86
iii. Inadequate skilled teachers

(a) Large extent

(b) Some extent

(c) Partially

(d) No extent

iv. Low income and unemployment

(a) Large extent

(b) Some extent

(c) Partially

(d) No extent

v. Lack of government support on agriculture such as granting micro loans to farmers and

small business.

(a) Large extent

(b) Some extent

(c) Partially

(d) No extent

87
vi. Low level of awareness of self-empowerment

(a) Large extent

(b) Some extent

(c) Partially

(d) No extent

88

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